5 Colorado Rockies who could benefit from Opening Day expanded rosters

In the month of April in 2022, rosters will be expanded from 26 players to 28 players. As a result, there will be 60 players in the entire sport that will definitely benefit from it. But for the Colorado Rockies, as we enter the final two weeks before Opening Day, there are a number of players that could benefit from the expanded rosters.

For this list, though, we will look at the five players that are most likely to benefit from the expanded rosters. Before we start, we will preface that most of the players that will benefit are pitchers? Why? Teams can carry as many pitchers as they want before the roster size is reduced to 26 on May 2. When that happens, teams can only carry a maximum of 13 pitchers.

We say that most of the players will be pitchers but not all.

So with that, let’s dive in.

Colorado Rockies outfielder Yonathan Daza could benefit from the 28-man roster

Yonathan Daza was one of the last players to show up in camp for the Colorado Rockies because he had to wait to get his visa.

Being a little bit behind the other position players in that aspect as well as struggling after the All-Star break at the plate and with injuries could put Daza on the chopping block.

With the 28-man roster, the Rockies could carry a five-man bench to have 14 pitchers and 14 position players on the roster. Even with a four-man bench, Daza still could make the roster but a five-man bench makes it more likely for him to make the team.

He does not have any minor league options remaining either so if he didn’t make the team, the Rockies would have to designate him for assignment and subject him to waivers.

Ben Bowden would provide them with another lefty reliever

Ben Bowden struggled throughout the 2021 season for the Colorado Rockies. He struggled at home, on the road, against lefties, and against righties. But he did have some bad luck

In 39 games, he had a 6.56 ERA with an ERA+ of 73 but his FIP was 4.85. His problems were that he allowed a lot of hits (11.1 H/9) and his control (5.3 BB/9) but he struck out 10.6 batters per nine innings, showing that he could be a good option for the team if he can get his mechanics together.

He would also provide the team with a second (or third) left-handed reliever but without the expanded rosters, he might be in the minors since he has minor league options remaining.

Justin Lawrence is a reliever in the same boat as Ben Bowden

Like Ben Bowden, Justin Lawrence made his MLB debut in 2021 with the Colorado Rockies and he had some struggles.

In 19 games, he had an 8.64 ERA but, like Bowden, he had a much better FIP of 4.55, suggesting some bad luck. He also had some serious control problems (10.3 BB/9) and allowed a lot of hits (11.3 H/9) but with his three-quarters/sidearm delivery and velocity, he generated a lot of groundballs in the majors and in the minors.

That’s something that could lead to some great success with the Rockies … if he can control the ball. In Triple-A in 2021, he walked 3.3 per nine innings and had a groundball rate that was higher than 60 percent. If he could generate that at the MLB level, then the Rockies would have a great reliever but right now, he is borderline for making the team with the 28-man roster.